Former US Attorney General John Ashcroft says his faith has always informed his politics, but has been misunderstood by his critics. Faith became a focus of the confirmation hearings when President Bush nominated former Missouri Senator John Ashcroft as his Attorney General. Ashcroft says critics unfairly assumed he would use the office to push his Christian faith. Ashcroft says faith is not something government can do for people, but something people must do for themselves. He says it is a relationship not between people and government, but between people and their creator. Ashcroft says he has never had any intention to impose Christianity on anyone, adding that that would be impossible. He does say faith has a role to play in the public square. Ashcroft resigned after Bush was re-elected, saying a second term is a time for a new beginning. He says a president deserves a new team when he begins a new term. Ashcroft runs a consultant company in Washington, D.C. and teaches at Regent University in Virginia. He says he has retired from politics. He was the featured speaker at the Governor’s Prayer Breakfast in Jefferson City, held at the beginning of each legislative session.